Park Ridge, IL (678 N Northwest Hwy)
678 Northwest Highway was a ShowBiz Pizza Place that opened on December 29th, 1982 and closed in early 1985.
History
Park Ridge, like all other ShowBiz locations, opened with The Rock-afire Explosion. There is not to much information about this store, other than a newspaper article and the interior of the store being shown in a 1987 Christian movie.
Movie
Park Ridge’s interior and Rock-afire Explosion show are shown in the 1987 Christian movie, Gold Through The Fire.[1]The ShowBiz part of the movie would’ve had to have been filmed during or before 1985, as Park Ridge closed in 1985. The exterior shown in the film is not Park Ridge’s exterior, but rather Arlington Heights, IL’s exterior.
Post Closure
After this location closed, their Rock-afire Explosion show and several of the stores entertainment assets were saved and stored by Showbiz Corporate. Then, in Spring 1985, the Surfside Beach, SC (900 US-17 BUS) store opened, and the assets were recycled from Park Ridge and used in this new store, including their Rock-afire Explosion show. The store then closed on September 21st 1989 after four years of operation and the show and assets were sent to the Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike) store which opened May 1st 1990. Less than 2 years later, it underwent Concept Unification and was converted into Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. That store is still open to this day under the Chuck E. Cheese's banner.
Stages
| Stage | Installed | Removed |
|---|---|---|
| Rock-Afire Explosion | December 1982 | Early 1985 |
Animatronics
| Animatronic | Serial | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|
| Rolfe DeWolfe | 4-82 1-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Dook Larue | 4-82 2-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Fatz Geronimo | 4-82 3-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Beach Bear | 4-82 4-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Owned by Private Collector. |
| Mitzi Mozzarella | 4-82 5-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Billy Bob | 4-82 6-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Looney Bird | 4-82 7-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Destroyed. |
| Choo Choo | 4-82 8-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Unknown / Destroyed. |
| Sun | 4-82 10-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Owned by Private Collector. |
| Moon | 4-82 11-23 | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Destroyed. |
| Antioch | N/A | Sent to Surfside Beach, later Richmond, VA (10430 Midlothian Turnpike). Now Destroyed. |